Dispatch 9: This Honest Mountain
August 29, 2001 Basecamp, Rongbuk Glacier

As it is primarily my responsibility for sending out these dispatches, I apologize for not communicating for the past week. A lot occurred in that week, and I shall now do my best to update you.

I will be up front and honest in saying that a portion of the reason for not updating sooner is that I became spellbound by what surrounds me. Each time I approached our com tent and saw our computer and sat com equipment, it struck me as almost sacrilegious. My gaze would return to the imposing snow-covered north face of Mt. Everest — or more appropriately, Chomolungma, as it has been known by the Tibetan people before Europeans even knew that this continent existed. I’d find myself walking away from the com tent and all of our high tech gear.

A short time later I’d find myself atop the glacial moraine — alone and huddled among the large boulders. I felt that I was under a spell and in deep contemplation of the face that rises 12,000 ft. above our elevation. Will it embrace or throw us back in disdain? Will it take lives as an offering or give them back as a gift.

Please don’t interpret this in any way as morbid thinking. It is only honesty. As honest as the mountain.

The mountain has no pretense. It simply rises before you, as it is. Honest — offering whatever your are capable of accepting. This place is the only representation of absolute truth that I have known over the years.

We are confident that the monsoon is coming to an end. We have had two consecutive days without rain, and most of the showers are now light and of short duration. We now have BC totally whipped into shape.

I must boast that Shmay and I have the most 'styling' tent — with solar lighting from LED LITE, speakers hanging from the tent ceiling, two CD players and a couple of stacks of books. Lying inside the tent vestibule at this moment is one of our two dogs. His name is Deep Fry. His brother, Stir Fry, is outside scrounging. Both are wild dogs that spend all day sleeping and all night barking. About 3am one morning, unable to sleep because of their incessant barking and hollering, we named them...as we discussed what their futures may be.

Yesterday, Tom Halvorson, Scotty Anderson and I took Stir Fry for a hike up to 18,000 ft. and back — a distance of about eight miles. Stir Fry slept well after that and had two plates of Mac and Cheese.

On the morning of Aug. 24th we had our Puja Ceremony here in BC. We helped Man Bahdur and Pemba build a rock chorten, place a prayer flag pole and string prayer flags to the four directions. Then we were asked to leave as they finished the preparation. The day was perfect with a cloudless sky and a gentle breeze from the north toward Everest. When things were complete we were summoned to join Man Bahdur and Pemba atop the ridge with our crampons and ice axes.

A small fire was started upon a flat rock near the base of the chorten. Juniper branches and spruce bows from home, picked by my two sons Garrison and Mitchell, were used along with yak butter. We all placed our crampons and axes alongside the chorten within the wisp of the smoke being carried toward Everest. Each of us was given a handful of rice to be tossed on the chorten and into the flames. Pemba then poured beer into our hands to drink and asked us to pray to our own god for a safe journey. We then ate small bits of food as the flames dwindled. It was a wonderful experience for all of us present.

It was unfortunate that Louisa and Jim Sturgis had to leave prior to the Puja. It was great having them join us all the way to BC. Our thanks again to Jim for all the tech support and being a key member of this expedition even though he couldn’t stay for the duration. Thanks, Jim. I look forward to our next adventure.

On Aug. 24th our 33 yaks arrived. Also on that day, Man Bahdur and Pemba traveled the route to Advance Basecamp (ABC) and back. They discovered crevasses along the route, which they believe may cause a problem — although not an unsolvable one. This information upset the yak herders who were concerned at the prospect of this obstacle. They told us all of their concerns would be swept away like the wisps of smoke of the Puja — for an additional $500. The mountain simply stood behind us.

To make a long story short, the yaks got loaded with our supplies and departed the afternoon of the 25th, arriving at ABC on the 26th at 16:39 Nepal time. Karl, Brian and Kelly, along with Pemba and Man Bahdur, accompanied the supplies. We also had a government security person who was supposed to insure the safety and security of our supplies to ABC, but he stayed in BC. The yaks returned to BC late on the next afternoon.

Having all of our needed supplies up at ABC is a huge relief. We will rest and do daily acclimatization climbs from BC until the 31st. We will all depart BC for ABC the morning of the 31st, arriving the next day. We hope to find the North Col in such condition that we can begin fixing lines to the top and establishing and stocking a camp at the top of the col.

Because we are still experiencing the monsoon, we’re all aware that this is optimistic thinking. Looking at the heavy snow on the face right now, my gut tells me the avalanche conditions will be to great to start pushing up the col. Regardless we need to go for the purpose of getting acclimatized.

ABC is at an elevation of 21,500 ft. Three days at that altitude and then back down to 17,000 ft. at BC will be a great benefit. After returning to BC, and depending on what conditions we find at ABC, we’ll rest and wait for a few days. Patience is the key to longevity and success — and the mountain will always be here.

We will take all of our com. equipment to ABC so we will continue with updates and photos from ABC. The resolution of our photos may not be the best. We are limited by satellite signal time. If we attempt to transmit photos with higher resolution (thus, larger file sizes), we risk losing the signal in mid-transmission, and we would have to try again. Plus there is the fact that, for what it costs to operate this equipment, you could drive a new yak to work each week. Hey Jed, sometimes I just crack myself up!

Beginning September 1st, the school curriculum that was designed and provided by Touchstone Energy, one of our major corporate sponsors, will be up and running. This expedition is thankful beyond words and proud of their support, not just for this team but for the opportunity to be invited into classrooms across the nation to share our journey with our nation’s future leaders.

It would be great if my old school got involved with the curriculum project — not that anyone would remember me except for the principal and the superintendent, both of whom are long gone. You see, I used to spend a great deal of time in both their offices. We would have lengthy "philosophical debate and discussion on human behavioral patterns and what may be judged to be acceptable under a controlled environment when one should be engaged in the learning process."

--Ed

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